Be Who You Are
by GoatChese1001
Summary: The greatest football season of the year is ending and with one last game Riley promises Zane something amazing...but what are the repercussions and will Riley be pushed over the edge?
1. Defying Gravity

_A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first Degrassi fanfic so I hope you like it! This will turn into a lemon and therefore a rated M fanfic so I hope you won't mind it. There are a few things I wish to make better but it's mostly the length that challenges me. I will continue in the hopes of making the chapter lengths longer and better so sit back and enjoy..._

_Also: YES I LIKE SHOW TUNES! Defying Gravity happened to fit this chapter really well._

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**Be Who You Are**

**Chapter 1: Defying Gravity**

_"Something Has Changed Within Me_

_Something Is Not The Same_

_I'm Through With Playing By_

_The Rules Of Someone Else's Game-"_

"Zane…I promise you…I will tell everyone!"

"How many times have you said that and backed out of it?"

"This time I'm serious…the most important night of my life is days away, and if we win…I'll tell everything, I swear to you!"

Zane looked surprised at Riley in the empty gym at Degrassi Community School. The two were working on some football drills when Riley brought up the subject of his sexuality. It wasn't easy for him to talk about it, but when he was alone with Zane he could be comfortable with his feelings. It was like he could really be himself with Zane and it was refreshingly different from his "Football Riley" persona that he usually used as a façade. In actuality Riley wanted to show everybody the way he was around Zane. This past summer that they'd spent together had made Riley realize that he wanted to be with Zane but he just couldn't handle the pressure of being openly gay. What would the team think of him? What would his parents think? There would be so many repercussions for coming out and it scared him to think about it. Finally it got to a point where Riley didn't care anymore…a point where Riley would stand up for who he really was.

Riley sighed, "I'm going to tell everyone."

Zane rolled his eyes, "I'm not sure you will," It seemed like the same old story, the same nonsense that Riley was breathing.

Two cheerleaders walked into the gym talking about their newest routine. Their names were not known by either Zane or Riley, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the situation at hand.

"You think I'm not comfortable with it…" Riley muttered glancing at the two cheerleaders that were then laughing and giggling and watching the two boys.

"That's exactly what I think!" Zane said a little bit louder attracting both of the cheerleader's attention.

"You know what I think?"

"Wha-"

Zane had little time to reply when Riley took Zane's head in his hands and pulled him forward, into his own body. Riley took one look at the confused Zane and took his lips captive. Not polite or gentlemanly, but rough and hard. Zane almost fell backwards from shock if it wasn't for Riley who stood firm, deepening the kiss still holding onto him tightly.

The two cheerleaders gasped in awe, jaws dropping to the floor. Was Riley the star quarterback kissing Zane the up and coming gay kicker? It was too hard to comprehend, so it was predictable that they ran out of the gym only to be found minutes later telling the rest of the power squad of what they witnessed.

Riley pinned Zane up against the wall when the cheerleaders left and continued. He bit Zane's lip and mumbled something incoherent, about how sexy Zane was when he was on the football field. Continuing, Riley slid his hand down Zane's belly stopping right before the elastic on his shorts.

"Whoa, there tiger!" Zane said breaking away from the deep kiss and trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry…" Riley said, a bit frustrated.

"It's okay!" Zane laughed and gave him that killer smile, "That was pretty hot actually."

Riley smiled back, "Yeah?"

"Yeah…You do know that you being gay's going to be the biggest rumor at Degrassi tomorrow?" Zane loosely hugged Riley and kissed his neck.

"I don't mind anymore. Besides, I can deny anything those two cheerleaders say, they didn't look important enough for a rumor to stick."

Zane let go of Riley, crestfallen. "I can't believe you!" He went to his bag on the ground and started packing up his things, "You still want to deny things after you kissed me in public?"

Riley looked away not wanting to see the hurt on Zane's face, "It's not like I want to!"

"Then what is it Riley?" Zane picked up his bag and went up to him, "I've said this a million times but I'll say it again…you need to start being who you want to be and not what people want you to be…you'll get further in life that way." Zane just shook his head and left the gym.

The next day the gay rumor was in full swing. Riley spent hours trying to evade questions about the rumor, not wanting to answer them after what Zane had said to him. He wanted people to assume what had actually happened because frankly he felt like shit about it. It was horrible for him and he thought it must be even worse for Zane.

Zane. That was all he cared about. Riley was too stupid to realize that before. Only to realize he was that stupid at the end of the day when he saw Zane in his last class getting paper thrown at him. It made his heart ache with regret.

That night was the big game. The BIG game. It was the highlight of the season for the Degrassi Panthers: the championship. Somehow they managed to make it to the championship despite everything that happened. It was the deciding factor for Riley. He promised Zane that he would tell everyone that he was gay if they won the championship. Zane thought it was another one of his promises that he would break but Riley was determined to win the game.

Riley had managed to get back his first spot as quarterback with a lot of ass kissing and training. He had to prove his worth even with the sucking up. This didn't make Drew any more his friend than a cat and a dog were buddy ol' pals. He of course was furious and demanded to be put back on the spot and after Drew lost a game, Degrassi just couldn't handle another loss.

It was nearing the end of the fourth quarter and the score was 6-9, with Degrassi losing. Zane who was getting jeers and boos from the crowd missed a field goal. It was hard for Riley to take, he wanted to go out in the middle of the field and hug Zane, but he restrained himself.

As the players lined up the field Riley took one good look at Zane on the bench. He was holding his head in his hands, shaking furiously. Riley almost called time out but he knew what he had to do.

The holder, Drew to be exact, ran the famous football lines with a "Set, HIKE!" And proceeded to thrust the ball towards Riley. He took it and looked for an opening in the defense but it was rock solid. The only way they were going to win the game was if he ran it himself. So he did just that.

Weaving in between the crowded area, Riley kept his eyes on the goal. There were only five seconds on the clock and he was less than ten yards away from the goal. He was inching closer and closer practically tasting the success. That was until a big boulder came out of nowhere and crushed Riley with his sheer weight. Riley's helmet flew off and he landed on the ground with a thud hitting his head in the process. It took literally a minute to get the damn boy up and off of Riley.

"Get him off!" Riley heard a familiar voice shout.

"Okay, okay, back off!" One of the boulder's teammates retorted.

They practically hoisted the guy off of Riley with the help of five guys.

Riley's vision was failing him, he saw a blurry figure, frantic and mad. There was a white noise ringing in his ear and people were rushing around though he couldn't comprehend what they were saying. 'I'm just going to take a nap.' Riley kept telling himself but it seemed like an eternity before he finally woke up with a jolt.

Zane was above him, a vision like an angel beneath the floodlight's lighting of the football field. He was holding what looked like a vial of salt beneath Riley's nose. Zane finally cracked a smile after he saw that Riley's eyes were open and alert.

"Good morning, sleepy-head!" He cooed even though he was fully aware that it was about ten at night.

"I feel like an elephant sat on me…" He moaned.

"Well…he was a big boy." Zane smirked.

Riley groaned and sat up, "Did everybody leave?"

"The people in the stands have but the guys are in the locker room changing."

"Good,"

Zane looked at Riley quizzically and followed him to the locker room making sure his boyfriend didn't get hurt again.

In the locker room Riley was standing in front the benches where all the football players were. He remembered that he once tried to tell his coach and thus everyone around him that he was gay. It had not been a long time ago that it happened but it felt like ages.

"Listen up!" Riley shouted to get the attention of the other players. They all looked up from their separate conversations and stared. Riley looked at them with a serious expression that only came out when he was pissed or contemplating something very hard, "I have something to tell you guys."

"What that you're finally coming out of the closet?" A random player shouted who had obviously heard the rumors.

Riley looked to the source but could not pinpoint the person who shouted, "In fact…" He started clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, "I'm…g-g-GAY!"

The whole football team including the coach looked in surprise. Most of them had heard the rumor but refused to believe it from the gossipy cheerleaders. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats until someone shouted out "fag" and another started taunting Riley with other degrading terms.

Riley flushed madly wanting to get out of the situation but he knew he had to stand up for himself, "What did you say prick?"

Coach Armstrong immediately stepped in between the two boys -who were nearly about to punch each other's lights out- and though he was stunned a well he managed to scrounge up some words to say, "Stop! Act like men, you two!"

Riley shook his head to rid himself of evil thoughts and slowly counted to three, "Sorry coach…" He muttered after he'd cooled off.

Zane witnessed all the events and felt a stinging sensation in his chest. Was Riley even ready for the consequences? There would be no time after that to regret what he had done after all, there would be a lot of heckling from the student body and Zane wasn't sure Riley could put up with all of the teasing. It would have been better if Riley just hadn't said anything or done anything at all. Even though Zane liked, hell even loved Riley so much, he wasn't sure if Riley was ready to be openly gay.

After Zane got out of the shower all dried off and squeaky clean, Riley came out and surprise attacked him. The two were the only ones left in the locker room after the little fiasco and Riley made sure no one saw what he did next.

He pinned Zane to the ground and growled giving Zane a rough hickey on his neck. Riley looked at the flustered boy's face and smirked. He proceeded to leave a trail of marks all around his neck and collarbone. He could tell that Zane was getting excited from his touch.

"R-Riley w-what are you doing…" He huffed with a bit of pleasure ringing in his voice.

"I need you right now," Riley muttered burying his face in Zane's chest, stopping his attack.

Zane sighed and patted Riley's mop of hair. There was nothing he could do except comfort the newly open gay boy. Despite how much Zane was annoyed that he got excited for nothing he decided to hold Riley and be caring. Though it was a bit weird with them lying on the vulgar tile in the locker room, the two boys took comfort in one another.


	2. Happy Together

_**A/N: **I first want to thank my beta reader and friend WhitneyMaeCry for giving me much support on this fanfic…I'm quite embarrassed that I didn't thank her in the first chapter but I will from now on! This chapter made me giggle, squeal, blush, faint (not really but you get the picture)…I haven't done a BL (boy love) or lemon before so it was very interesting to see how it would pan out…It was difficult to say the least and I have a newfound respect for lemon writers…and sorry I just have to have a fangirl moment: "OMYGOD!ICAN'TBELIEVEIDIDTHAT!" Ahem…now that that is out of my system I will bid you adieu and wish you happy reading. Oops...forgot to add something..._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Degrassi, the characters, or the song/song title!_

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**Be Who You Are**

**Chapter 2: Happy Together**

"_I Can't See Me Loving Nobody But You_

_For All My Life_

_When You're With Me_

_Baby The Skies Will Be Blue_

_For All My Life-"_

Zane wiggled uncomfortably beneath Riley. It's not that he didn't like to be on the bottom it's just that due to Riley's muscles he was one heavy dude. Riley didn't know the proper way to lay on a man; or a woman for that matter. He seemed considerably unskilled when it came to being in a physical relationship. Zane didn't know the full extent of Riley's experience though, and perhaps he'd underestimated his boyfriend just a tad bit.

Riley noticed his uncomfortable wiggle and immediately got off him, "Sorry…"

"What? You aren't going to finish what you started?" Zane challenged breathing heavily, still turned on.

"Zane this is the locker room!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who jumped me!"

Riley raised an eyebrow, finding it impossible to ignore Zane's sexy, pleading face.

"Are you that…horny?" He laughed so hard he thought his spleen would rupture.

"It's not funny," Zane glared, "I-I-I'm going to burst!"

Riley's smile immediately faded and his face took on a look of hunger. His face flushed and his ears turned bright red. There was something about Zane that made Riley go crazy, and it wasn't just the fact that Zane was writhing on the floor with a look of pent up lust.

Riley knelt down and traced the marks he made on Zane's body. He placed himself carefully on Zane this time and gently licked the tender spot where he had sucked the boy's smooth skin for too long. Riley heard Zane utter a soft moan. It made Riley excited and want to continue with what he was doing. He wasn't very skilled with physical things yet, from lack of practice and lack of boyfriends. It didn't help that Zane was the bottom of the relationship either, but it filled Riley with pride knowing that Zane would trust him enough to be dominant.

Riley started out by taking off the thin towel that separated him from his lover's natural body. He slyly peaked down to see Zane as erect as ever. It caused Riley to blush madly but he was determined to continue. He began licking and mouthing the nape of Zane's neck, closely followed by his jaw. Riley moved his blushing face closer to Zane's mouth, who responded in kind with an impatient grunt. The larger player finally invaded his boyfriend's mouth, roaming and sucking on soft lips until they were swollen and cherry red.

Riley moved his hands down Zane's chest where he massaged his nipples. They grew hard to the touch and Riley broke the kiss to leave a trail all the way to Zane's right nipple. He licked and nipped it raw but refusing to neglect the other, he turned his attention to the left one and followed suit. Zane responded to the attention but tried to hide it with a stifled whimper. When he was done gnawing on the sore nipples he made a zigzag with his tongue down the over-stimulated chest and down to his abdomen. He didn't dare look down for fear of becoming flustered. When he had no more skin to lick, other than the obvious, he closed his eyes and rested on Zane's stomach for a minute to collect himself.

"Is something wrong?" asked a winded Zane between pants.

"I-I'm too embarrassed…"

Zane gave an endearing smile and tugged off Riley's shirt, "Want me to show you how it's done?"

Riley didn't answer but he didn't need to when Zane started yanking off his pants as well. When there was nothing but bare skin between the boys, Zane took one look at Riley's erection and smirked.

"What do we have here?" Zane asked teasingly.

Riley rolled his eyes, "I'm going to devour you the first chance I get."

Zane raised an eyebrow, "Not if you can't handle this…"

The quarterback couldn't respond to the comment because Zane took Riley's tender member in his hands and gave it a small tug. Zane got the response he wanted from Riley when he heard a groaning noise from deep in his boyfriend's throat. He felt it for a second more, pulsating and hard, before continuing an up and down motion on the length, slowly first but then gradually increasing the speed of the strokes. Riley held Zane tightly and when he was about to release he squeezed Zane's arm in a near-painful grip and gave a seductive moan. Everything became blurry to Riley as he rested his head on the other boy's shoulder while panting harshly.

"Couldn't handle it, huh?" Riley could detect a hint of laugher in Zane's voice.

"I'm seriously going to devour you now." Riley replied once his breathing was under control and his hips had stopped involuntarily twitching. He narrowed his eyes and wetted his lips.

Riley pounced on Zane and trapped his lips with his own, slamming Zane's back almost painfully against the locker room's tile floor. His tongue ran inside Zane's mouth and the two battled with their mouths as if their lives depended on winning. Riley won out when Zane couldn't hold his breath any longer. Zane just stared, startled by his soon to be lover's newfound confidence (or possibly horniness) while Riley just smirked, placing Zane's head gently on the towel that was previously covering the smaller boy's nether region and proceeded to trail down his skin with his finger.

When he finally reached Zane's erection, standing at attention he grasped it and placed his mouth at the tip. He licked it once, which sent a shudder down Zane's spine. Riley then started licking it profusely. Zane's small chirps made Riley start sucking as much of the member as he could take. His hand stroked Zane's cock firmly while he tortured his boyfriend with deep sucks. It was a technique that he'd quickly developed on the spot and from the looks of it, Zane didn't mind too much. Zane's gasps got louder until he seized up and released into a more than willing mouth, calling Riley's name.

Riley swallowed and wiped the dribble of what he couldn't gulp down from his mouth, "By the looks of it you want more…"

"P-Please!" He begged making Riley unsure of what he meant. While he was lying on the towel covering his blushing face Riley then understood that he meant he wanted more and was simply confirming it for him. Riley smirked and knew just what to do.

Zane's eyes got bigger as Riley went even further below and started licking his boyfriend's tight ass. His tongue entered and Zane cried out in pleasure, holding onto Riley's head and pushing him in deeper. He roamed around and explored the inside of Zane. Even though this wasn't their first time together, Riley had never been that far down before. Though Zane didn't dislike the feeling of being filled with the wet muscle, he felt oddly unfamiliar. Riley was determined to make a map of all of the spots that made Zane twitch for use later.

"That…was…new…" Zane mumbled, still holding the blonde.

Riley pulled out and replaced his tongue with his index finger. He circled around inside and felt Zane's entry way widen. Meanwhile Zane was mewling for more, almost lost in the sensation of being touched. Riley inserted another finger and ventured deeper into him. It was by the time that the third finger was inserted that he began to feel like Zane was ready for him. Zane was sucking him in and it got to a point where Riley had enough and just wanted to meld with him already.

"Zane, I need you right now."

"Mhh…" He responded with a shudder. Words would have ruined the moment.

He took his own cock and lined it up with Zane's entrance. Thrusting forward he entered, penetrating slowly. He patiently waited for Zane's body to adapt to the foreign object inside of him while his boyfriend whimpered in a confusing combination of discomfort and pleasure. Though his entrance was so tight Riley managed to go in and out in an acceptable pace. He could tell that there was a bit of pain on Zane's part, but he had faith that he could make it go away soon enough. Pleasure would blossom throughout him, making him moan loudly and deep in his throat. They had a slow, steady pace going but it seemed as if the dark haired boy wanted to break that.

"Ha…mha…Riley AH!…I…want…you…to go faster…" He panted, pleading for Riley to speed up his thrusts, bonding with him even more.

The quarterback complied and plunged deeper and faster into him. He shoved his cock deep in him, to the point where the length was invisible inside the boy and then ground deeper into him. Zane would buck his hips at each thrust making Riley writhe against the feeling of clenching heat around him and his cock driving in the deepest it had ever been. Riley planted a sloppy kiss on Zane's forehead during a particularly bottomless thrust. The two teens lost control at that exact moment, causing their hot seed to jet outward. They climaxed together in a hot mess on Riley's stomach and in Zane's tight hole.

"Ha..haa…Z…AH…ZAH…ZANE!"

"Mhha…ha…ha…AH! R-R-Riley, RILEY, RI-" Riley mashed his lips against Zane's as they moaned into each other for a final time.

They quickly cleaned up the mess after catching their breath and took a relatively calm shower together, leaving no trace of what they had done. It was for the better and it would go down in the book as one of their "crazy places I've had sex" stories. Although the probability of catching something from the disgusting locker room floor was ridiculously low, both boys were relieved to find that the next day neither of them showed any traces of illness. Although Zane had a sore bum and back, which was only natural for lying on the tile for so long.

When Zane arrived at school he could see Riley talking with a football buddy of his. They were there on a Saturday to meet up with Coach Armstrong to have an inspirational chat about the season. He thought with the way Riley and the boy were talking that was a civil conversation but when the word "faggot" caught his ear Zane knew shit was going down. He was prepared to run over there to stop Riley, but surprisingly he didn't have to. Zane saw Riley just smile and walk away which was totally not like him.

Riley spotted Zane standing underneath a tree in the schoolyard watching him silently. He jogged over to him with his backpack trailing along and gave Zane a good long kiss for the whole world to see. People stopped and stared at the two who were practically making out in front of the school.

"Well good morning to you too!" Zane exclaimed laughing at Riley's newfound confidence, "Hey listen," He cupped Riley's cheek and looked him straight in his blue eyes, "I want to take you on a date for being so courageous!"

"That would be awesome, where to?"

"After here let's go to The Dot-"

"Quite original, I like it!" Riley joked receiving a playful love tap from Zane.

"And then after we get our coffee fix how about the beach?"

Riley complained, "But I don't have my swim trunks!"

Zane rolled his eyes, "There are other things to do besides swim! Besides….boxers do the job just fine."

Riley slung his arm around Zane and joked, "Well doesn't my boyfriend know everything."

"And isn't my girlfriend quite the smart ass," Zane retorted and ran away from Riley before he could realize what he said.

"H-Hey!" Riley shouted after Zane with a bit of laughter in his voice, "I'm not the bottom!"

"We'll see about that later!" Zane yelled back.

Peter came walking in The Dot with his backpack slung over his shoulder and his hair all messy. He saw Riley sitting there with Zane and smirked. They were talking and flirting with each other openly by the looks of it and Peter thought that it was great. Never before had Riley had that type of confidence in himself. He used steroids, beat people up, and other things but the Riley in front of him that day was like a whole new person. A gentle, happy, peaceful new person. He had heard the rumors about Riley but he wanted to make sure they were true himself, and by the looks of it, they were.

"Hey," Peter casually said, knowing he was interrupting something.

Riley looked up and saw his good friend, "Oh hey man, what's up?"

"Nothing much but I do have a present for you!" Peter presented a paper bag to Riley and gave him a wink.

Peter went behind the counter and Riley opened the bag only to close it almost immediately, blushing to his ears. There were a million things that could have been in that bag but never would Riley ever imagine something like that. He was determined to keep Zane's nose out of it, if it was the last thing he did.

"What is it?" Zane asked curiously.

"Oh…its n-nothing!" He replied trying to contain a blush.

Zane looked at him with one eye open, "Are you sur-"

"P-Positive!" Riley assured him.

Zane rolled his eyes not wanting to anger Riley but still curious about the bag. He was going to peek when Riley wasn't looking but before he could do anything Riley put it in his backpack. Zane sipped his coffee, his interest piqued.

At the beach it was bright and sunny. The sky was a light blue with rolling cirrus clouds lolling about on a lazy day. It was chilly but Zane and Riley liked the beach better when it wasn't blistering hot out. Though it was cold it did not deter the wildlife. There were birds flying in the sky, calling and squawking to other animals. Most of the sea creatures could be found in pockets beneath the sand, hiding from the natural predators that would soon find them. Riley and Zane were not ones to mess with nature and so they let the animals be.

"Hey, Riley…" Zane spoke suddenly. The pair were lying on the beach, cuddling with a blanket. There was no need for words; just the presence of each other's company was good enough.

"Hmm?" He replied in his tranquil state.

"Why don't you want me to know what was in that bag?"

Riley became alarmed once more, "Well…its….it's kind of embarrassing…"

Zane felt like he had him cornered, "Well...?"

"It was petroleum jelly..." Riley squeezed his eyes shut and felt a hand go on his chest. The hand went up to his neck and he felt warm lips on the crook of his jaw, "And you think…" Riley started talking faster in time with his heartbeat, "-That Peter was making fun of us or something…I mean what does he know?"

Riley stopped blabbering when he felt the warm lips reach his own. Zane was kissing him and it felt amazing.

"Maybe we could use it later?" Zane asked innocently muttering into his ear, causing Riley's blood to rush to his face and other parts.

"I give in!" Riley shouted, "MY BOYFRIEND IS JUST TOO DAMN SEXY!" He flopped down on the blanket, not caring who heard him shout.

Zane just smiled and laid back down.


	3. I Dreamed a Dream

**A/N: ! I am suuuupppperrr sorry for not updating for like...months and my only excuse is the ever accursed: WRITER'S BLOCK! I cannot write lemons for the life of me so I'm sorry if the sexy goodness is not there. On a positive note: This chapter's title comes from Les Miserables called "I Dreamed a Dream." It's a good song, check it out!**

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**Chapter 3: ****I Dreamed A Dream**

"_But The Tigers Come At Night_

_With Their Voices Soft As Thunder_

_As They Tear Your Hope Apart_

_And They Turn Your Dream To Shame-"_

"So…what do you want to do?" Riley smirked raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Zane didn't take the hint, "Do you have The Lion King?"

"Err…yes….why do you ask?"

"…" Zane stared at Riley almost asking with his eyes if he was serious. Seeing that Riley was all too serious he continued, "I want to watch it with you, silly!"

"Oh….okay…" Riley trudged over to his movie collection to find said movie, sad that Zane didn't get the clue.

After Riley and Zane were done with the beach, Riley decided that it would be a good idea to go over to his house ending the night. His mother wouldn't be home until later that night. She was working the late shift at her job and so they would have time to fool around. Not like Zane wanted to fool around, he just wanted to watch The Lion King.

A good ways into the movie Riley and Zane were absorbed into it. Despite his reluctance, Riley was enjoying himself immensely. Zane was cuddled up next to him wrapped up like a ball, feeding off of his warmth. A blanket was wrapped around the two lovers but they needed the warmth of each other to be truly warm.

When the movie got to the part where Simba and Nala met again, Zane snapped out of his "movie trance" and suddenly blurted out, "This is my favorite part."

Riley took his glued eyes off of the screen and smiled at Zane, "Mine too!"

Zane looked at Riley and smiled back, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. He looked back at Riley and could tell he was in trouble.

Riley had a look of desperation on his face as he remembered what he had wanted to do in the first place, "R-Riley?" Zane asked trying to snap him out of his lustful gaze. Though his eyes were too alluring to look away from, he tried to go back to watching the movie.

Zane didn't get too far in the movie when Riley started licking and biting the nape of his neck, "Sto-ah-p-"

"You can't deny it…" Riley muttered softly into his ear, "You're turned on…"

"-Bu-ah-t…your mom…and it's the couch…"

"Would you prefer the bed?"

Zane stayed quiet and didn't respond to his lover besides his obvious moans of pleasure.

Riley stopped biting Zane's neck and instead followed his jaw line to his lips where Riley placed his own. They gave quick sweet kisses before slowly invading each other's mouths. It was raunchy and heavy like a rush of hormones blasting through them. Their tongues entwined and their hearts beating fast, the two boys were melting into the couch.

Zane's face was flushed and embarrassed as he broke away from the wet kiss, "I don't know why I get this way when I'm with you…"

"So…you've never felt this way before?" Riley panted with passion dripping in his voice.

"I've never been so in love before." Zane corrected him and smiled as Riley gave him a quick peck on the lips before resuming their battle of the tongues.

Zane placed his hand on Riley's shirt and tightened his grip with wanting, "R-Riley…I…I need…you…"

Looking down, Riley blushed noticing not only Zane's bulge but also his own. Not wanting to rush anything he slowly moved his hand down his lover's chest and lifted up Zane's shirt to reveal his smooth skin which was his for the taking. Riley moved down Zane's body to where his bellybutton was and licked at the sensitive spot below it. The smaller boy wriggled from the stimulation and let out a cry of desperation.

"Riley…stop teasing…" Zane muttered with his hands over his eyes to prevent Riley from seeing the embarrassment plastered all over his face.

Riley just let out a laugh as he too was embarrassed. He pinned down Zane's hands so he could take in all of him, "No need to be shy!"

Zane took it as a challenge and his expression changed faster than lighting from embarrassed to serious. He shifted his weight into his upper body and pushed Riley off of him all the while pushing him back onto the couch and pinning his body to the seat. Zane then gave Riley a rough kiss and pulled on his belt buckle, the friction between their pants increasing their bulges.

"I'm not as shy now am I?" Riley stared amazed at Zane's random assertiveness. He then smirked thinking it wouldn't be so bad.

Zane was tugging off Riley's belt and practically ripping off his pants to get him down to his boxers.

At first he massaged Riley's member through the boxers until he was satisfied that Riley had enough torture. Zane smirked at his dominance until he heard a loud cracking at the front door.

"Faggot!"

"Nancy boy!'

"Wheeerreee areee yoooou, sugar?"

There were snickers, hoots, and hollers coming from outside of Riley's house. The two boys inside the house knew that there were some jerks from the football team running around Riley's front lawn and doing lewd acts on top of that. The only question was: What were they doing?

Riley quickly slipped his pants back on and went to the front door with anger rising in his head.

"Don't-" Zane started to say from the couch but stopped himself in his tracks. The angry Riley was a scary beast to deal with.

Quickly, Riley swung the door open only to be hit in the chest with an egg. There was laughter coming from behind the big tree in his front yard. He could see the outline of a football jersey in the shadows. Oh, things were about to go down. Or so Zane though, but to his surprise, Riley sighed and closed the door and waited for the tormentors to leave.

Riley counted to three and squeezed his hand focusing his attention on a vase on the table in front of him. Zane walked over and took his clenched hand. Riley let out a gust of air he withheld in his lungs and took Zane's hand in his. He opened his eyes and rested his lips upon Zane's forehead, "Would you be willing to help me clean up the mess outside?" he muttered then with both of their foreheads touching.

Zane kissed Riley's cheek, "Of course," He said with a somber tone, "Anything…"

The brutal football players left after finding that they could not excite the quarterback. Riley and Zane then went outside with buckets and brushed and started scrubbing away the egg from Riley's house.

"What about the eggs on the roof?" Zane asked.

Riley tried to crack a joke in the tense atmosphere, "When the sun comes up they'll be scrambled eggs…I guess…"

Zane and Riley sighed simultaneously as they both realized how lame the joke actually was, "I guess I'll scrub them with the hot water…" Zane murmured as he sopped a sponge in a bucket of hot water.

"Good thinking." Riley mumbled back as he did the same thing and wiped down a window.

"Riley, what are you doing?" A sudden voice came from behind the two boys.

Riley spun around to see his mother concerned and confused with a little hint of anger. She quickly looked up and saw Zane staring from the rooftop, "What is Zane doing here so late at night?"

"Err…the house got egged….ma…"

"I can see that, but why did it get egged?"

"Some football players were being jerks, mom, don't worry about it."

"Well I have to worry about it now! Why would the football players be so harsh to you when you're on their team?"

Riley closed his eyes, opened them, and then looked up at Zane. Almost telepathically they understood each other and knew the next step. It seemed like there was no avoiding it this time and the cat would be out of the bag soon enough.

"Mom, I think you should come inside…" Mrs. Stavros looked alarmed and had no clue as to what Riley was going to tell her.

As Riley sat his mother down in the kitchen he started to tremble having no clue as to what his mother would say. He held her hands desperately as if it were the last time he was going to hold them. He felt sick to his stomach as the words choked in his throat. Though they were there in his mind he couldn't bring himself to say those simple words. He squeezed his eyes shut and counted to three as if he were angry, but this time he was just scared, "Mom…" He said slowly as he looked in her eyes realizing that there was also fear in hers, "I-I….I'm….gay…"

"Oh so that's it?" She got up from her seat and turned her back towards Riley fiddling with the appliances on the counter.

"Mom?" Riley asked spinning his mother around.

Tears were welling up in her eyes and her face was getting redder and redder. Riley's heart sank as he knew he wasn't accepted. What made it worse was that his mother couldn't handle the truth. A thousand needles pierced Riley's skin and his hair stood on end. The conclusion would not be a good one.

"Please…just let me think…" She managed to blubber through her sobs of disappointment.

All of a sudden something rose in Riley: a burning, bitter hate. His mother who sheltered him, fed him, loved him was turning away from him just because of his sexuality. It was a notion that Riley couldn't grasp. He clenched his fist and his head lowered. His face was boiling as he slammed his fist into the wall, "I see how it is," He shouted. While he didn't manage to pierce the wall the whole house quivered from the touch.

Quickly, Riley ran upstairs into his room and packed everything he could. His mother could be heard from downstairs sobbing loudly from the kitchen. Though he could hear her, Riley tuned out the cries of disillusionment as he shoved the final item in his large duffle bag. As he went downstairs he tuned into his mother saying: "I can't believe it…" over and over again. This just angered him more as he went out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

"Riley…what happened?" Zane said with concern in his eyes as he jumped off the ladder he was on.

Riley stopped and looked him in the eyes, "Can I stay at your place?"

Almost immediately and without explanation, Zane shook his head yes.

"Let's go," Riley huffed and started walking again adjusting the bag on his shoulder.

The pair went to Zane's as quickly as possible. He wanted Riley to settle down and the only way that could happen was to comfort him.

"Mom, I'm home!" Zane shouted putting his car keys on the table beside the door.

A bright-faced woman appeared around the corner with a facial mask on. She smiled until she saw Riley and then gasped, "Zane you know our rule, remember?"

Zane rolled his eyes, "Relax mom, Riley needs a place to stay for a while."

"-But our rule?"

"I promise not to do 'that'…" Zane muttered half-heartedly almost like he wasn't going to keep that promise.

"Fine, it's late so why don't one of you boys sleep on the couch."

"Mom we aren't going to do tha-"

"Couch!" Zane's mother said evenly and went upstairs to her room.

Zane sighed, "Come on, I'll show you to my humble abode,"

Riley felt so confused as to what had transpired in front of him, so he blindly followed Zane down to the basement where there was a huge room filled to the brim with Zane's belongings.

It was quite strange for a basement to be someone's room; however the whole place was lively, carpeted, and painted. There were posters on the wall, and even a tiny window that had curtains covering it. Zane's room was relatively clean but had the clichéd "guy's room" feel to it. There were some items scattered around the floor but no dirty laundry and all of his books were neatly on a shelf in a row.

Riley had been to Zane's house during the summer and met his mother. She was nice, understanding, and seemed like an open-minded person. Riley was confused the first time he went to Zane's house because his room was also the basement, though it didn't feel like it. Zane claimed that it was almost like living by himself.

"I'll take the couch," Riley said grumpily as he put his stuff down on the bed and was about to go back upstairs when Zane closed the door to the upstairs stairway virtually cutting Riley off from civilization.

"No you won't…you're the guest," Zane grinned as he inched closer to his boyfriend, "You know what my mother's rule is?" He said changing the subject.

"N-no, I don't know." Riley replied a bit surprised at what Zane was doing.

"She made me promise never to have sex in her house," Zane's grin grew even wider, "But in my room its different…"

Riley sighed as he got what Zane was implying, "I'm not in the mood,"

The smaller boy took hold of Riley's shirt and pushed him down to the floor. He laid down on top of the other boy and started kissing him all over, "I beg to differ," Zane whispered as he felt something hard touching his leg.

Riley's face softened, "I'm angry…and I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"Its okay," Zane tickled Riley's ear, "Let it all out, I'll comfort you."

Riley's eyes widened at the invitation; never before had anyone been so accepting of him. He closed his eyes and counted to three thinking he was in disbelief but when his eyes opened, Zane was still there. Tears formed in Riley's eyes as the realization grew apparent, "Why'd she have to go and say that?"

"Shhh…" Zane hugged Riley's head and mumbled into his hair, "She needs time…let her go for a while…"

Riley sobbed, "Stay with me, then…I don't know what I'd do without you…I-" Riley cried some more, "-I love you."

Zane's heart fluttered at the confession and for the desperate need that Riley had for him, "I love you." Zane replied. Through Riley's despair, Zane felt a warm feeling of love arise in his heart. It was a nice feeling to comfort his lover and finally realize the true love they had for each other.

Riley wiped away his tears and leaned upwards with Zane still on top of him. He kissed Zane once and then twice with passion rising in his throat. Their tongues entwined as their kisses became salty with the tears that Riley did not dry. Riley loosened his belt buckle as Zane pulled off his own pants. The two separated quickly to pull off their shirts but they soon collided again panting quickly and wanting more. With only their underwear on, Riley scooped Zane up in his arms and placed him on the bed.

"I'm not a princ-AH-ess…" Zane protested being carried but Riley ignored him and had already pulled off both of their boxers and licked the smaller boy's inner thigh. He was suddenly flipped around and in his confusion Riley had touched his back, softly tracing his spine with his tongue, "W-What are you doing?"

"Trying something different," Riley said in a harsh and low, seductive voice.

Zane couldn't see but whatever Riley was doing he didn't want it to stop. The cold saliva on his bare back made his skin tingle and as Riley made his way down Zane could hear his heart beating faster and faster. When Riley made his way to Zane's supple curves he took hold of them and licked the entrance once making Zane shiver.

"Wait," He huffed and rummaged in his bag for something. It only took a few seconds because no sooner had he said that then a sound of a lid popping open was heard and the icy cold feeling of something being thrust inside Zane was felt.

"AH-R-Riley," Zane shuddered at the touch. Riley had slid a gob of petroleum jelly into Zane, coating his inner walls. Only their pants and moans could be heard in the room as Riley inserted three of his fingers into Zane's hole again and started widening the entrance, "J-Just do-ah-it AH-lready…"

Complying with the smaller boy he easily slid his member into Zane. Both of the boys felt pleasure burst through their bodies. Zane was used to Riley by then and the jelly was helping as well, so there was nothing felt but warmth and bliss.

Riley's anger turned to relief but with each thrust of his hips he went harder and harder. It was a sign that he still was not over the prior events. Zane didn't seem to mind though, as he was taking it all with gusto. He was extremely sensitive to Riley's touch as Riley begain stroking Zane's member in compliance with each plunge.

The way Zane moved and wriggled with excitement all over the place in turn made Riley more excited. With the way Riley quickened his pace even more, Zane could tell that he was in for a long night, but he seemed to be enjoying it equally as much and didn't seem to mind if it continued. In fact, he might have been enjoying it more since the spot that made Zane squirm out of control was being hit repeatedly; Riley knew where it was from previous times.

"Ha…haa…AH-" Zane started muttering but he was at his peak and so he grew louder with each pant, tightening the grip on his pillow, "HN…HAAAH!" He gave a long moan, and with that he had his first orgasm of the night.

Just hearing Zane made Riley want to scream, so not far behind Zane, Riley's voice picked up, "AHN…AH-" He came inside his boyfriend causing a response from both of the boys.

Riley fell on top of Zane to rest, still inside him and ready to go for a second round. They caught their breath when Riley suddenly twitched inside Zane. Zane smirked and groaned from the sudden jerk. His face fell into his pillow, "M-ah-mah-more-" Zane moaned, his voice muffled but not unheard. He knew that Riley's frustration was not even a quarter of the way relieved, and Riley was more than happy to oblige.

By the time they were done there was more than half of the jelly gone. It was the wee hours of the morning and Zane's mother hadn't found out about their late night escapade. It was thankfully due to the almost soundproof basement and the fact that his mother had her bedroom on the top floor.

The events that had happened that day had worn poor Riley to exhaustion. He succumbed to his dream world but not before he gave Zane a sweet but drowsy kiss on the forehead and held the smaller boy closely to his beating heart.

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**A/N: End Chapter! Whooo! So, yeah, I'm sorry the end scene wasn't as awesome, so I figure I should stay away from lemons (or limes for that matter) for a while. From now on the chapters will have allusions to lemon or lime but not full on IN YO FACE! I might go back to it when the chapters get intense but for now I feel like I can produce better work without it. I hope you guys can understand, and thank you for reading and following the story! I might not get to reply to all of your reviews but just remember that I appreciate it and I read them all. The next chapter will hopefully be up sooner than this chapter, my school work got lighter and so I might have more time to work on it. :DDDDDDD**


	4. A Hard Day's Night

**_A/N: So I got this chapter out relatively quicker but it's a little shorter than I expected (at least it's longer than my first chapter...). I hope you like it anyway, I'll be updating soon so stay tuned for that!_**

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**Chapter 4: A Hard Day's Night**

_It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog_

_It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log_

_But when I get home to you I find the things that you do_

_Will make me feel alright_

When Riley woke up he could smell Zane's scent everywhere. He smiled as he reached for his lover but found empty space. His eyes shot open as he sat up and searched the room for any signs of life beside his own. Finding no one he slipped on some clothes and went upstairs to find a sleeping Zane on the couch.

His eyes were lidded with his lashes that weren't long but still very alluring. The way his lips parted slightly with each breath he took made him look innocent but sexy at the same time. His arms were wrapped around his pillow as he was probably thinking it was Riley in his dream, and the blanket around him showed off his skinny figure. Riley smiled as he studied his boyfriend intently but he finally kneeled down and tousled Zane hair that surprisingly didn't have gel or hair product in it.

Zane opened one eye and smiled, "Good morning,"

Riley looked around for any signs of Zane's mother. When he realized she was nowhere in the general vicinity he quickly kissed Zane, "Good morning to you too,"

"Mhh…What time is it?" Zane asked stretching his arms and rubbing the sleepy seeds out of his eyes.

"It's around twelve, I can tell you that much." Riley replied, "Does your mom work on Sundays?"

Zane smirked; Riley knew exactly what he was thinking: more sex.

"Your mother is going to be super piss-" Riley was cut off short by Zane's lips invading his personal bubble and his mouth.

Zane broke of the kiss and said breathlessly, "What my mother doesn't know can't hurt her…" He smirked, "Just yesterday you were the biggest horn dog around!"

Riley looked down with his face sullen, "Yeah…well, things happened…"

Zane looked at him feeling ashamed, "I'm sorry…I just wanted to comfort you...you know I love you, isn't that what's important?"

Riley gave him half a smile, "You're right…" He muttered, and then he gave Zane his entire smile, "It's not so bad that my boyfriend is all over me."

Zane took it as an invitation to continue. He went on his knees supported by the couch and wrapped his arms around Riley's neck. As Riley's head leaned up the two's lips connected once more.

They ended up in Zane's room all day just enjoying each other's company whether it was sex or not. When the two were taking a break playing video games the casual talk lead into what Riley was going to do since he left his mother's house.

"I need to get an apartment or something, but first a job." Riley muttered leaning his head on Zane's shoulder.

"I'll help you," Zane replied with enthusiasm.

Riley smiled and kissed Zane's cheek, "No, I need to do this myself…but thank you for the thought."

Zane glanced at his clock on the wall, "Crap!" He managed to say as he untangled himself from his blankets, "My mom gets home in an hour!"

"Well then we better clean up," Riley said turning off the video game.

"How about you take a shower…" Zane said referring to their sweaty bodies, but he was not done with his sentence, "-with me?"

Riley looked surprised for a second but his lips curled into a smirk, "Then what are we waiting for? You mother will be home soon."

When Zane's mother returned home, she found the house to be exactly as she had left it. Suspicious, she looked around the entrance to see where the boys were. She spotted a mop of brownish-blond and a mess of spiky black sitting on the couch in the living room.

The television was blaring but the two boys were sound asleep, resting with their heads together. Ms. Park retrieved a blanket from the closet and put it around the two sleeping boys, "You two were good today right?" She asked rhetorically and then let them sleep.

The next day as Zane and Riley got ready for school; Zane had a funny thought pop into his head.

"What if I got a job and live with you?" Zane asked.

Riley didn't look opposed to the idea, "Well…" He started, and then Zane could see the hesitation on his face, "I don't know how your mom would react to that. I want to be on her good side."

Zane looked at Riley lamely, "Well you already broke her biggest rule."

"-And I was going to talk to you about that,"

"What?"

"I think we shouldn't do 'that' anymore, or at least until I get an apartment."

Zane's eyes narrowed, "First you don't want me to live with you, and now you're telling me that? Geez, why don't you take everything and ruin it?"

"Hey now, I'm not trying to ruin anything! I just need you to understand, please…Zane?"

Zane pouted and sighed, he knew he was being irrational but he wanted to be with Riley more than anything, "I do understand, it's just that I love you a lot…"

"I know you do, I love you a lot as well…but you have to think of your mother as well."

"Can't we just think about us?"

Riley was tempted to just say yes and whisk Zane away with him to an unknown place, but he knew the consequences would be grave. He took Zane's hands and kissed Zane's forehead, "We can when we're in college,"

"So you're saying that when we go to college we can live together?" Zane asked slyly.

Riley smirked, "Of course!"

"Then I guess we should get to school to get it over with!"

Riley took his backpack and laughed, "You're really eager, aren't you?"

"If it means being with you, then yes!" Zane smiled, holding onto Riley's arm as they walked out the door.

When they arrived at school, they were holding hands. People still adjusting or just finding out about Riley were staring uncomfortably at the couple. Knowing that the quarterback was gay wasn't a very comforting thing to think about. Riley didn't think about any of that, in some way he learned to forget about what other people thought. Even though he still cared about what Zane, Ms. Park, or his mother thought, there weren't a lot of bad things he thought about when he was with Zane.

"Looks like someone needs a room," Drew hooted from his spot on the bench next to some of his football buddies.

"Looks like someone is alone again," Riley shot back.

Drew glared at Riley, "What? I can get any girl I want!"

"And I don't need to!" Riley replied to Drew, pointing to Zane.

Drew scowled and tried to throw a football at Zane but Riley caught it and gave it to Zane to kick into the bushes, "Nice throw!" Zane sarcastically said to Drew. The pair snickered all the way into Degrassi while Drew was seething in his spot. Drew would get revenge on them in some way or other.

During lunch, everything started fine but when Riley and Zane entered the cafeteria everyone grew quiet.

Drew came up to the two, "Well, well, if it isn't the cutest couple in Degrassi!"

"What are you getting at, Drew?" Zane said quite annoyed with the football player.

"Everyone…" He signaled to everyone in the cafeteria, "I propose…" Drew took the spaghetti on one of the geeky kid's plate and threw it on Zane and Riley, "A FOOD FIGHT!" He yelled as loud as he could so that everyone could hear him.

The cafeteria grew loud and food started flying with high velocity. That day's special was a horrible thing to have in a food fight: spaghetti. The red sauce stained the walls and clothes of every thing it came in contact with. The rock hard garlic bread stoned people in its path of projection, causing terrible bruises to form on their skin. The milk grew sour and soaked into the shoes of everyone who stepped in it.

Zane and Riley stood in the far corner, edging their way toward the exit. With trays in hand, blocking the horrible mixture of cooking, they laughed and shared a simple kiss.

Drew saw them and knew his plan didn't work. As he got hit in the head with some mashed potatoes, he growled with anger.

When the end of the day came and Drew got in trouble with Mr. Simpson, Riley and Zane were off the The Dot to see Peter.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Peter exclaimed as he put some ketchup bottles on the counter.

Riley got straight down to business, "I need a job, I saw that The Dot was hiring so I'm here!"

"Oh, that's cool man, just fill out an application and I'll give it to the owner." Peter gave Riley a slip of yellow paper and a pen.

"Sure,"

Riley sat down to fill out the application and Zane started staring at him. It wasn't a good stare either, it was more of a "what the hell are you doing?" stare. It made Riley uncomfortable and nervous so he finally just asked.

"What's with the face?"

"What face?" Zane replied shaking his face clean of any expression.

"Well, it's not a very good face. Care to explain why?"

"I'm just going to say that my offer still stands of us living together, now."

Riley groaned, "Not that again. Listen; didn't I say when we're in college? It's not that far off!"

"I know but if you ever get lonely living alone I'll be there." Zane tapped the table and tried not to be disappointed.

Riley smiled and gave Zane a quick kiss, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

The two left after Riley filled out the application, he was sure to get the job but he would wait patiently for it.

"Hey, faggots!" A voice called to them outside of their hang-out spot.

A bunch of the football jocks lead by Owen surrounded the pair.

"We don't like homosexuals kissing in front of us when we're eating, makes us sick." Owen started.

"Then you should go somewhere else," Zane rolled his eyes and took an angered stance.

"We think YOU should go somewhere else," Owen laughed incredulous of Zane's statement, "In fact let us show you where you belong,"

Riley stepped forward, "We're not going anywhere,"

Zane took Riley's hand, "Don't do anything reckless…" He muttered.

"The queers are holding hands how cute!" Owen pointed out.

"Let's get this over with, Owen; I don't want to fool around with these homos forever!" One of the jocks said from behind him.

"What? Are you going to try and throw us in the dumpster?" Zane looked at Owen and the jocks with disgust.

"No," Owen said, cheerfully moving forward causing the other two boys to walk back into the ally, "We're just going to beat the shit out of you."

Owen lunged forward as he fell to the ground, missing the two that moved out of his way with agility.

"Ugg, this is annoying, let's get out of here!" For once Riley didn't want to fight to solve his problems and so he took Zane's and just ran away.

It probably wasn't the best thing to do; it hurt his pride because he backed out of what he said. Still, running away was better than getting hurt or worse: Zane getting hurt. He had someone he wanted to protect now and with that Riley realized that fighting would be bad and the consequences many. It had seemed like he had his anger under control because the whole time he was counting and squeezing his free hand into a fist. It just showed that Riley was willing to change for the better, instead of getting into any fight he could just because of his sexuality.

The two stopped when they were as far away from Owen and the football crew as possible. They were out of breath and tired from running for so long. People may have thought it strange that two boys were holding hands and running down the street, however, Riley felt that they needed to be as far as they could go.

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind…" Zane murmured.

Riley stared at Zane with disbelief, "What did you want me to do, beat them up?"

"No…I just thought we could reason with him…"

The pair started walking down the street, still holding hands.

"Trust me; there is no reasoning with Owen. He's been making fun of you for a long time and you still wanted to talk with him?" Riley shook his head.

"I guess you're right…" Zane sighed as he started swinging their arms in tune with their steps.

"Let's just go home, we can have fun there."

"Yeah," Zane smiled, "Let's go home."

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**_A/N: Woooooooo...So will Riley get the job? Will Owen and Drew stop at nothing to take the dynamic duo down? AND WHAT ABOUT PETER? DOESN'T PETER GET MOAR FACETIME? (I'll tell you right now: no. Lol, sorry!) Thank you for reading, I hope you guys stay updated!_**


	5. Boys Don't Cry

_**A/N: Ahem...heeeeyyy guysss...its been a while hasn't it? Sorry, life has caught up with me. But now I'm grounded so YAAY probably more time for me to work on this! I will admit, I haven't been keeping up with Degrassi so I'm a bit behind on episodes. I don't know if there was a ZanexRiley episode so don't spoil anything, please XD! The title chapter for this one is taken from The Cure's song Boys Don't Cry. I love love love love love love love love love love love The Cure, they make me happy in a weird sort of way. You should totally give it a listen! Anyway, on to the story!**_

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**Boys Don't Cry**

"_So I Try To Laugh About It_

_Cover It All Up With Lies_

_I Try To Laugh About It_

_Hiding The Tears In My Eyes_

_Because Boys Don't Cry-"_

"I got the job!" Riley barged into the Park's house with vigor.

Zane ran around the corner and leaped into Riley's arms, planting a kiss on his boyfriend's lips, "That's amazing!"

Ms. Park went down the stairs to see what the commotion was all about. When she saw Riley holding Zane up and the excited looks on their faces she just had to ask, "What's happening?"

Zane looked over at his mother, "Riley got a job!"

Ms. Park smiled, "Good for you, Riley! You've taken one step into adulthood, unlike my Zane." She prodded, hinting at Zane to get a job.

Zane rolled his eyes as Riley put him on the floor again, "I always do constructive things!"

This time Ms. Park was the one to roll her eyes, "Sure, sure…now go to school you two."

"Bye, Ms. Park!" Riley waved goodbye and opened the door for Zane.

As they left Ms. Park sighed, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Things were going a little too well with Riley in the house. Ms. Park wasn't superstitious but she couldn't help but get that ominous feeling that loomed near her. Something was going to happen, and she sure hoped it wasn't with her Zane.

Riley and Zane drove to school fairly quickly, Riley was the one driving even though it was Zane's car. The two were comfortable using each other's things which was the norm between the two.

With Zane's jeep parked next to a hearse Riley couldn't help but stare, "Who drives that to school?"

"Hey, I think it's cool. It shows character!" Zane replied.

A black figure moved from the inside of the car and Riley grabbed onto Zane's hand. Riley wasn't too good with the occult and creepy, just like he wasn't good with art. It probably wouldn't have fazed him if it was another car, but a hearse was weird enough let alone a black figure crawling out of the car.

"What's up Eli?" Zane shouted over to the figure moving out of the car, as Zane laughed at Riley.

Eli looked up from his bag and waved to Zane with his black painted fingernails that Riley couldn't help but notice, "Nothing much, how about you?"

"Same here, see you around?"

"Sure, sure!" Eli looked back to what he was doing and waved goodbye staring at whatever bizarre thing he had in his backpack.

"Eli is a little….strange… don't you think?" Riley said a little uncomfortably, like Eli was ready to walk through a wall and snatch Riley up.

"Well, he's committed to the things he does, just like you and football. Don't be so quick to judge, Riley," Zane stopped walking and turned to Riley, "I'm sure there are a million people judging you for being gay…are you ready to face that?"

Riley knew where his boyfriend was getting at, "I'm sure I'll be fine! And I'll give that Eli a chance; he just startled me…that's all."

Zane sighed, did Riley really get it? He could say all he wanted but Riley had to face the facts by himself, Zane couldn't do that for him.

"You're making a face," Riley jeered.

"I'm fine…Riley, you should get to class."

Even though Riley went, there was still something bothering Zane. It was something more than not accepting Eli at first glance, but not everyone could be like Zane who was perfect in every way. Riley knew Zane was afraid of the fact that he wouldn't be able to take being gay. Riley knew he was gay but that didn't mean he had to act like the stereotypical "lets-go-shopping-and-buy-shoes" type of gay guy. It's not that there was anything wrong with that, but it wasn't who Riley was. Did Zane expect him to change into such a person when he came out? Maybe Riley would change, but it would be on Riley's terms and not someone else's. It almost made him mad just thinking about it. Maybe he was overanalyzing things…but maybe he wasn't. Zane wasn't a person to want to change people but there was a subtle doubt in Riley that made him waiver.

Riley glared at the people walking past him…Today would be a bad day.

After school, Riley decided to walk around and get his head clear. Riley told this to Zane who was about to object until he saw something extremely wrong Riley's demeanor. All Riley needed was some fresh air, or that's what Zane convinced himself of.

Before work, Riley would look around for some type of apartment. He needed to become more independent and he couldn't stay at Zane's place forever, even if Zane wanted him to. He was turning a new page in his book and everything would be perfect…well…except that he was mad at Zane for the time being.

As Riley walked down the street he kept on sighing. Fresh air was not what Riley needed and he knew that. He was still determined to chug along and with that he slowly came upon a wall filled with ads. Staring at them intently, Riley found at least three suitors to his humble high-school needs.

"Hello…?" Riley shouted into the dark abyss that was called an apartment complex.

A hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed Riley by the gruff of his collar, making the black hole consume both the hand and Riley.

"So I'm guessing you need an apartment?" A mustached man spoke to Riley with a grunt.

"Y-Yes…" Riley replied to the man out of fear. He hoped to god this wouldn't be his landlord if he chose to partake in this man's offer; who the hell would just grab a person and ask them in such a shady way if they needed an apartment?

"That's great, my boy-!" Riley twitched at his new name, "I happen to have a nice one upstairs!"

"Err…"

"FRANK WHO IS IT?" A woman screeched from the top of her lungs only to appear in the doorway five seconds later.

"Shaddup Jill, we have a new renter!"

"Um…"

"Take him up to see the room, Jill"

"Always bossing me around…bleah!" The woman named Jill then narrowed her eyes toward Riley, "You look too young to be renting."

"Yeah….well, things happened and I need to rent. So, can I see the apartment?"

"Always in a hurry, men are…sure, sure! Follow me upstairs."

When Riley entered the apartment that he would have thought to have been broken down and dirty, he saw that it was anything but. The walls were a subtle cream color and the floor was all hardwood. The entrance opened up into a living room where the kitchen stood only a couple of feet away. There was a small bedroom, enough for a bed and dresser and a bathroom that had all the amenities.

"Woah, so how much would this set me back?" Riley inquired.

"Well not many people seem to be buying down our side of town, which is strange, but that means you're in luck. It won't cost you a pretty penny." Jill replied to Riley knocking on the sturdy wall.

"I'll take it! When can I move in?"

Jill cackled, "Hold your horses there; we still have to have the paperwork signed and a payment up front."

"I can do all of that, easy!" Riley said eager and enthusiastic.

"Sure, sure, kid." Jill muttered with a smirk.

Zane was pacing in his living room, trying to get a hold of Riley. He went to work, Zane knew that, but after he didn't come back. Something must have happened but he didn't know what. He assumed that whatever the problem was that it was bad, though when Riley walked through the door all his troubles melted.

"Where were you?" Zane scolded.

Riley looked at Zane blankly, not wanting to talk, "I got a place…"

Zane blinked, "That's great!" He hugged his boyfriend, "But why aren't you excited?"

"You remember back when I went to that art gallery with you?"

"…Yeah but what does that have to do with-"

"-Well, I wanted to change for you…"

"And you know you don't have to, Riley…be who you are, remember?" Zane sighed not getting the point, "Are you worried about something?"

"Well our conversation before school…"

"Oh boy," Zane muttered, "Look, I'm sorry about saying all that stuff but I'm just afraid Owen and his football lackeys will get to you…I don't want to change you or anything, I just want you aware. Be confident"

Riley's features softened, "And I am aware, I didn't go and beat them up when I had the chance to, didn't I?"

Zane smiled and took Riley's hand, "That's right, and I'm glad you didn't."

"So…" Zane slyly looked over to the other boy, "Are we cool now?"

"Definitely!" Riley smirked.

"So let's hear about that new apartment you have!"

When Riley woke up he realized where he was. He was in his new apartment that he recently moved into. The walls were still that warm cream color but placed on them were pictures of Zane, posters, and football paraphernalia. It had that weird apartment smell to it but besides that smell Riley caught the scent of sweat and Zane.

Looking to his left he saw Zane curled up next to him with the blankets tossed carelessly about. His breathing was the only thing that could be heard in Riley's room. Zane slightly moaned in his sleep which then Riley knew that he was dreaming about their late night "adventure."

Riley smirked and thought, "It's already been a month since I moved in…"

Even though Riley said that Zane couldn't live with him, it didn't stop Zane from spending the night almost every day of the week. It was like a not so subtle hint that Zane really wanted to be with him. It was tempting, but it was also a forbidden fruit. Riley couldn't get on the bad side of Zane's mother, he just couldn't. It was because she was the one who Zane was most connected to, though Zane would say otherwise. Listening to Zane talk about his mother was like listening to a dependent chick following his mother. It wasn't a bad thing, but Zane was too confident in his ability to be away from his mother when in actuality he wasn't.

It was because Zane only had his mother. His father was a rotten liar and tried to persuade his mother into starting a relationship with him. Of course his mother was not dumb but when he kept insisting she became afraid. It was difficult for Zane to tell Riley what happened next because one can only assume the worst, and the worst did happen. His mother was kidnapped, abused, and raped.

Riley's mouth hung open when Zane talked to him about his mother. He could tell that Zane's insecurities were far and many and maybe he wasn't as perfect as Riley thought him to be.

Zane's tousled and un-gelled hair look was quite attractive to Riley and he was tempted to wake Zane up but he eventually decided against doing such a thing. Instead, Riley slipped on some clothes to make breakfast.

He checked his refrigerator and decided that it was an omelet kind of day. Riley knew what kinds of things Zane liked in his eggs so he added some tomato, cheese, and garlic.

Zane emerged from Riley's bedroom looking chipper and dandy, "What are you making?" Zane peered over his lover's shoulder, "Omelets?"

"I made your favorite kind,"

"Did you…put garlic in it?" Zane tested Riley.

"As weird as it is, yes, I did!" Riley teased.

Zane gave Riley a playful love tap, "Whatever!"

They ate in peace, thinking that in this moment of time everything was perfect. So many things happened but maybe they could finally just be happy with each other. It seemed like everything was going right and the two wanted to keep it that way.

School was boring for them as they started to get antsy at the end of the day. Much of their day consisted of passing notes to make school go faster. It hardly worked but at least the two were communicating with each other.

Riley was walking home from school when he happened upon a Greek food shop. Zane had gone home to talk to his mother and Riley was bored out of his mind until he found the shop. Going inside Riley smirked as he knew what he wanted to purchase. Zane would be surprised the next time he went over to Riley's apartment.

"Riley?" Zane called out to his boyfriend as he closed the apartment door behind him.

An ominous figure walked up from behind Zane and tackled him to the ground.

"Very funny Riley," Zane muttered, turning around into Riley's arms.

"How did you know?"

"Well it is your apartment."

Riley rolled his eyes, "You can never be too sure." He got up from the ground and helped Zane up, "I have a surprise for you!"

"Oh, what is it?"

"Close your eyes and open your mouth."

'This sounds perverted…" Zane murmured underneath his breath.

"Not in the slightest!" Riley laughed, "Now close your eyes,"

Zane complied and felt something sugary fall into his mouth. He opened his eyes and ate whatever Riley gave him. It was delicious with a bunch of different layers.

"So the baklava was good then, eh?" Riley then revealed a plastic box filled to the brim with the dessert.

"Its super sweet!" Zane exclaimed a bit taken aback by the rush of sugar he ingested.

Zane was oblivious to the crumbs on his cheek as Riley looked at them and smirked, "Not as sweet as you!" He licked the crumbs off the corner of Zane's mouth.

Zane looked down, "You're a ball of cheese…" Riley tilted Zane's head up and planted a sugary kiss on his lips, "-But you're my ball of cheese," Zane whispered into Riley's ear and nipped it.

Riley took Zane's advances and succumbed to the couch.

When the two woke up it was near ten at night.

"Are you hungry?" Riley smirked when Zane's stomach growled.

"A little bit…"

"I'll check to see if I have anything in the fridge."

Riley trudged over to his kitchen and found there to be absolutely no food besides a carton of eggs left over from breakfast. So being the good boy that Riley was he trudged back to Zane and ruffled his hair.

"No food, want me to pick something up?"

Zane propped his head up with a pillow and smiled, "Sure, want me to go with you?"

"Nah, I'll be right back. Just hang out; you won't even notice I'm gone."

"I doubt that." Zane corrected him.

Riley smiled and gave Zane a kiss before leaving his apartment on his quest for food.

Not even ten minutes later the door clicked open as Zane's back was turned to the door. Hands flew over Zane's eyes as he smirked at the motion.

"Riley, did you even get food?"

A voice chuckled from behind Zane, "He didn't even get the food…"

Zane had no time to react but one thing was for sure…that wasn't Riley's voice.

* * *

**_A/N: Aha...well, I'm a bit horrible aren't I? A cliff-hanger for you guys! I know I hate cliff hangers as well but they keep the suspense going. The chapter title goes with the very end more so than the fluff of the beginning and middle of the chapter, but still, look it up! Zane and Riley are in for a big turning point next chapter, and hey, what's Degrassi without a little drama? Thank you guys for reading, I really appreciate it!_**


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